TED@BCG Paris
Sebastian Kraves: The era of personal DNA testing is here
Filmed:
Readability: 5
1,159,063 views
From improving vaccines to modifying crops to solving crimes, DNA technology has transformed our world. Now, for the first time in history, anyone can experiment with DNA at home, in their kitchen, using a device smaller than a shoebox. We are living in a personal DNA revolution, says biotech entrepreneur Sebastian Kraves, where the secrets buried in DNA are yours to find.
Sebastian Kraves - Biotech entrepreneur
Sebastian Kraves wants to bring DNA science to more people in new places. Full bio
Sebastian Kraves wants to bring DNA science to more people in new places. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Imagine that you're a pig farmer.
0
1111
2492
00:16
You live on a small farm
in the Philippines.
in the Philippines.
1
4232
2845
00:19
Your animals are your family's
sole source of income --
sole source of income --
2
7101
3659
00:22
as long as they're healthy.
3
10784
1901
00:24
You know that any day,
4
12709
1370
00:26
one of your pigs can catch the flu,
5
14103
2220
00:28
the swine flu.
6
16347
1347
00:29
Living in tight quarters,
one pig coughing and sneezing
one pig coughing and sneezing
7
17718
3271
00:33
may soon lead to the next pig
coughing and sneezing,
coughing and sneezing,
8
21013
2940
00:35
until an outbreak of swine flu
has taken over your farm.
has taken over your farm.
9
23977
3375
00:39
If it's a bad enough virus,
10
27841
1689
00:41
the health of your herd may be gone
in the blink of an eye.
in the blink of an eye.
11
29554
3172
00:45
If you called in a veterinarian,
12
33256
1644
00:46
he or she would visit your farm
and take samples
and take samples
13
34924
2483
00:49
from your pigs' noses and mouths.
14
37431
1824
00:51
But then they would have to drive
back into the city
back into the city
15
39279
2827
00:54
to test those samples
in their central lab.
in their central lab.
16
42130
2799
00:57
Two weeks later,
you'd hear back the results.
you'd hear back the results.
17
45556
2603
01:00
Two weeks may be just enough time
for infection to spread
for infection to spread
18
48601
4086
01:04
and take away your way of life.
19
52711
2088
01:07
But it doesn't have to be that way.
20
55616
1771
01:09
Today, farmers can take
those samples themselves.
those samples themselves.
21
57411
3257
01:12
They can jump right into the pen
and swab their pigs' noses and mouths
and swab their pigs' noses and mouths
22
60692
3747
01:16
with a little filter paper,
23
64463
1801
01:18
place that little filter paper
in a tiny tube,
in a tiny tube,
24
66288
3213
01:21
and mix it with some chemicals
that will extract genetic material
that will extract genetic material
25
69525
3881
01:25
from their pigs' noses and mouths.
26
73430
1913
01:27
And without leaving their farms,
27
75367
1925
01:29
they take a drop of that genetic material
28
77316
2298
01:31
and put it into a little analyzer
smaller than a shoebox,
smaller than a shoebox,
29
79638
3791
01:35
program it to detect DNA or RNA
from the swine flu virus,
from the swine flu virus,
30
83872
4601
01:40
and within one hour get back the results,
visualize the results.
visualize the results.
31
88497
4158
01:45
This reality is possible
32
93247
1956
01:47
because today we're living in the era
of personal DNA technology.
of personal DNA technology.
33
95227
3921
01:51
Every one of us can actually
test DNA ourselves.
test DNA ourselves.
34
99172
3702
01:55
DNA is the fundamental molecule
the carries genetic instructions
the carries genetic instructions
35
103448
3739
01:59
that help build the living world.
36
107211
2040
02:02
Humans have DNA.
37
110052
1254
02:03
Pigs have DNA.
38
111814
1572
02:05
Even bacteria and some
viruses have DNA too.
viruses have DNA too.
39
113410
3494
02:08
The genetic instructions encoded in DNA
inform how our bodies develop,
inform how our bodies develop,
40
116928
4224
02:13
grow, function.
41
121176
1708
02:14
And in many cases, that same information
can trigger disease.
can trigger disease.
42
122908
3617
02:18
Your genetic information
43
126915
1771
02:20
is strung into a long and twisted
molecule, the DNA double helix,
molecule, the DNA double helix,
44
128710
3690
02:24
that has over three billion letters,
45
132424
2448
02:26
beginning to end.
46
134896
1564
02:28
But the lines that carry
meaningful information
meaningful information
47
136484
3220
02:31
are usually very short --
48
139728
1565
02:33
a few dozen to several
thousand letters long.
thousand letters long.
49
141317
3022
02:36
So when we're looking to answer
a question based on DNA,
a question based on DNA,
50
144363
3147
02:39
we actually don't need to read
51
147534
1933
02:41
all those three billion
letters, typically.
letters, typically.
52
149491
2469
02:43
That would be like getting hungry at night
53
151984
2237
02:46
and having to flip through
the whole phone book
the whole phone book
54
154245
2390
02:48
from cover to cover,
55
156659
1255
02:49
pausing at every line,
56
157938
1575
02:51
just to find the nearest pizza joint.
57
159537
1985
02:53
(Laughter)
58
161546
1152
02:54
Luckily, three decades ago,
59
162722
2537
02:57
humans started to invent tools
60
165283
1928
02:59
that can find any specific line
of genetic information.
of genetic information.
61
167235
3507
03:02
These DNA machines are wonderful.
62
170766
2189
03:04
They can find any line in DNA.
63
172979
2729
03:07
But once they find it,
64
175732
1304
03:09
that DNA is still tiny, and surrounded
by so much other DNA,
by so much other DNA,
65
177060
5451
03:14
that what these machines then do
is copy the target gene,
is copy the target gene,
66
182535
4642
03:19
and one copy piles on top of another,
67
187201
2241
03:21
millions and millions
and millions of copies,
and millions of copies,
68
189466
2165
03:23
until that gene stands out
against the rest;
against the rest;
69
191655
2986
03:26
until we can visualize it,
70
194665
2183
03:28
interpret it, read it, understand it,
71
196872
2543
03:31
until we can answer:
72
199439
1278
03:32
Does my pig have the flu?
73
200741
2107
03:35
Or other questions buried in our own DNA:
74
203914
3497
03:39
Am I at risk of cancer?
75
207435
1912
03:42
Am I of Irish descent?
76
210505
1699
03:44
Is that child my son?
77
212623
2190
03:47
(Laughter)
78
215672
2174
03:50
This ability to make copies of DNA,
as simple as it sounds,
as simple as it sounds,
79
218537
4674
03:55
has transformed our world.
80
223235
1291
03:56
Scientists use it every day
to detect and address disease,
to detect and address disease,
81
224550
5012
04:01
to create innovative medicines,
82
229586
2488
04:04
to modify foods,
83
232098
2036
04:06
to assess whether our food is safe to eat
84
234158
1976
04:08
or whether it's contaminated
with deadly bacteria.
with deadly bacteria.
85
236158
3396
04:11
Even judges use the output
of these machines in court
of these machines in court
86
239578
2844
04:14
to decide whether someone is innocent
or guilty based on DNA evidence.
or guilty based on DNA evidence.
87
242446
4574
04:19
The inventor of this DNA-copying technique
88
247044
2413
04:21
was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Chemistry in 1993.
in Chemistry in 1993.
89
249481
3804
04:25
But for 30 years,
90
253831
1152
04:27
the power of genetic analysis
has been confined to the ivory tower,
has been confined to the ivory tower,
91
255007
3833
04:30
or bigwig PhD scientist work.
92
258864
2840
04:34
Well, several companies around the world
93
262333
2102
04:36
are working on making
this same technology accessible
this same technology accessible
94
264459
3848
04:40
to everyday people like the pig farmer,
95
268331
3031
04:43
like you.
96
271386
1349
04:44
I cofounded one of these companies.
97
272759
2584
04:47
Three years ago,
98
275367
1151
04:48
together with a fellow biologist
and friend of mine,
and friend of mine,
99
276542
2987
04:51
Zeke Alvarez Saavedra,
100
279553
1580
04:53
we decided to make personal DNA machines
101
281157
2615
04:55
that anyone could use.
102
283796
1717
04:57
Our goal was to bring DNA science
to more people in new places.
to more people in new places.
103
285957
3578
05:01
We started working in our basements.
104
289892
2161
05:04
We had a simple question:
105
292077
2053
05:06
What could the world look like
106
294154
1751
05:07
if everyone could analyze DNA?
107
295929
2427
05:10
We were curious,
108
298380
1262
05:12
as curious as you would have been
if I had shown you this picture in 1980.
if I had shown you this picture in 1980.
109
300142
4926
05:17
(Laughter)
110
305092
1285
05:18
You would have thought, "Wow!
111
306401
1791
05:20
I can now call
my Aunt Glenda from the car
my Aunt Glenda from the car
112
308216
2603
05:22
and wish her a happy birthday.
113
310843
1886
05:24
I can call anyone, anytime.
114
312753
1975
05:27
This is the future!"
115
315055
1620
05:29
Little did you know,
116
317801
1456
05:31
you would tap on that phone
to make dinner reservations
to make dinner reservations
117
319281
2605
05:33
for you and Aunt Glenda
to celebrate together.
to celebrate together.
118
321910
2424
05:36
With another tap,
you'd be ordering her gift.
you'd be ordering her gift.
119
324358
2530
05:38
And yet one more tap,
120
326912
1482
05:40
and you'd be "liking"
Auntie Glenda on Facebook.
Auntie Glenda on Facebook.
121
328418
2312
05:42
And all of this,
while sitting on the toilet.
while sitting on the toilet.
122
330754
2344
05:45
(Laughter)
123
333122
2174
05:47
It is notoriously hard to predict
where new technology might take us.
where new technology might take us.
124
335320
5263
05:52
And the same is true
for personal DNA technology today.
for personal DNA technology today.
125
340607
4409
05:57
For example, I could never have imagined
126
345040
3069
06:00
that a truffle farmer, of all people,
127
348133
2521
06:02
would use personal DNA machines.
128
350678
2089
06:05
Dr. Paul Thomas grows
truffles for a living.
truffles for a living.
129
353267
3291
06:08
We see him pictured here,
130
356582
1707
06:10
holding the first UK-cultivated truffle
in his hands, on one of his farms.
in his hands, on one of his farms.
131
358313
5096
06:16
Truffles are this delicacy
132
364179
1496
06:17
that stems from a fungus
growing on the roots of living trees.
growing on the roots of living trees.
133
365699
4063
06:21
And it's a rare fungus.
134
369786
1627
06:23
Some species may fetch 3,000,
7,000, or more dollars per kilogram.
7,000, or more dollars per kilogram.
135
371437
5312
06:29
I learned from Paul
136
377968
1393
06:31
that the stakes for a truffle farmer
can be really high.
can be really high.
137
379385
2887
06:34
When he sources new truffles
to grow on his farms,
to grow on his farms,
138
382296
3214
06:37
he's exposed to the threat
of knockoffs --
of knockoffs --
139
385534
2528
06:40
truffles that look and feel
like the real thing,
like the real thing,
140
388086
3456
06:43
but they're of lower quality.
141
391566
1502
06:45
But even to a trained eye like Paul's,
142
393092
2429
06:47
even when looked at under a microscope,
143
395545
2082
06:49
these truffles can pass for authentic.
144
397651
2151
06:51
So in order to grow
the highest quality truffles,
the highest quality truffles,
145
399826
3926
06:55
the ones that chefs
all over the world will fight over,
all over the world will fight over,
146
403776
3239
06:59
Paul has to use DNA analysis.
147
407039
2860
07:02
Isn't that mind-blowing?
148
410594
1746
07:04
I bet you will never look
at that black truffle risotto again
at that black truffle risotto again
149
412364
3300
07:07
without thinking of its genes.
150
415688
1670
07:09
(Laughter)
151
417382
1550
07:11
But personal DNA machines
can also save human lives.
can also save human lives.
152
419710
4105
07:17
Professor Ian Goodfellow is a virologist
at the University of Cambridge.
at the University of Cambridge.
153
425045
4520
07:21
Last year he traveled to Sierra Leone.
154
429589
2321
07:24
When the Ebola outbreak
broke out in Western Africa,
broke out in Western Africa,
155
432267
3922
07:28
he quickly realized that doctors there
lacked the basic tools
lacked the basic tools
156
436213
3812
07:32
to detect and combat disease.
157
440049
1658
07:34
Results could take
up to a week to come back --
up to a week to come back --
158
442216
3034
07:37
that's way too long for the patients
and the families who are suffering.
and the families who are suffering.
159
445274
4859
07:42
Ian decided to move his lab
into Makeni, Sierra Leone.
into Makeni, Sierra Leone.
160
450157
4494
07:47
Here we see Ian Goodfellow
161
455194
2125
07:49
moving over 10 tons of equipment
into a pop-up tent
into a pop-up tent
162
457343
4068
07:53
that he would equip to detect
and diagnose the virus
and diagnose the virus
163
461435
3676
07:57
and sequence it within 24 hours.
164
465135
2726
08:00
But here's a surprise:
165
468250
1779
08:02
the same equipment that Ian could use
at his lab in the UK
at his lab in the UK
166
470053
4122
08:06
to sequence and diagnose Ebola,
167
474199
2591
08:08
just wouldn't work under these conditions.
168
476814
2133
08:10
We're talking 35 Celsius heat
and over 90 percent humidity here.
and over 90 percent humidity here.
169
478971
4734
08:16
But instead, Ian could use
personal DNA machines
personal DNA machines
170
484153
2884
08:19
small enough to be placed
in front of the air-conditioning unit
in front of the air-conditioning unit
171
487061
3350
08:22
to keep sequencing the virus
172
490435
1931
08:24
and keep saving lives.
173
492390
1575
08:25
This may seem like
an extreme place for DNA analysis,
an extreme place for DNA analysis,
174
493989
3037
08:29
but let's move on to an even
more extreme environment:
more extreme environment:
175
497050
3776
08:32
outer space.
176
500850
1315
08:34
Let's talk about DNA analysis in space.
177
502633
2302
08:37
When astronauts live aboard
the International Space Station,
the International Space Station,
178
505657
3120
08:40
they're orbiting the planet
250 miles high.
250 miles high.
179
508801
3623
08:44
They're traveling
at 17,000 miles per hour.
at 17,000 miles per hour.
180
512448
2802
08:47
Picture that --
181
515274
1158
08:48
you're seeing 15 sunsets
and sunrises every day.
and sunrises every day.
182
516456
3875
08:52
You're also living in microgravity,
183
520817
1872
08:54
floating.
184
522713
1168
08:55
And under these conditions,
our bodies can do funky things.
our bodies can do funky things.
185
523905
3162
08:59
One of these things is that
our immune systems get suppressed,
our immune systems get suppressed,
186
527091
4742
09:03
making astronauts more prone to infection.
187
531857
2595
09:07
A 16-year-old girl,
188
535856
1913
09:09
a high school student from New York,
Anna-Sophia Boguraev,
Anna-Sophia Boguraev,
189
537793
3831
09:13
wondered whether changes
to the DNA of astronauts
to the DNA of astronauts
190
541648
2869
09:16
could be related
to this immune suppression,
to this immune suppression,
191
544541
2423
09:18
and through a science competition
called "Genes In Space,"
called "Genes In Space,"
192
546988
3369
09:22
Anna-Sophia designed an experiment
to test this hypothesis
to test this hypothesis
193
550381
3907
09:26
using a personal DNA machine
aboard the International Space Station.
aboard the International Space Station.
194
554312
4156
09:31
Here we see Anna-Sophia
on April 8, 2016, in Cape Canaveral,
on April 8, 2016, in Cape Canaveral,
195
559463
5699
09:37
watching her experiment launch
to the International Space Station.
to the International Space Station.
196
565186
4063
09:41
That cloud of smoke is the rocket
197
569273
2531
09:43
that brought Anna-Sophia's experiment
to the International Space Station,
to the International Space Station,
198
571828
4695
09:48
where, three days later,
199
576547
1929
09:50
astronaut Tim Peake
carried out her experiment --
carried out her experiment --
200
578500
3748
09:54
in microgravity.
201
582272
1222
09:56
Personal DNA machines are now
aboard the International Space Station,
aboard the International Space Station,
202
584175
3756
09:59
where they can help monitor
living conditions
living conditions
203
587955
2587
10:02
and protect the lives of astronauts.
204
590566
2094
10:05
A 16-year-old designing a DNA experiment
205
593938
3841
10:09
to protect the lives of astronauts
206
597803
1913
10:11
may seem like a rarity,
the mark of a child genius.
the mark of a child genius.
207
599740
3562
10:15
Well, to me, it signals
something bigger:
something bigger:
208
603784
2570
10:18
that DNA technology is finally
within the reach of every one of you.
within the reach of every one of you.
209
606378
5153
10:24
A few years ago,
210
612999
1707
10:26
a college student armed
with a personal computer
with a personal computer
211
614730
3183
10:29
could code an app,
212
617937
1151
10:31
an app that is now a social network
with more than one billion users.
with more than one billion users.
213
619112
4376
10:35
Could we be moving into a world
214
623933
1960
10:37
of one personal DNA machine in every home?
215
625917
3271
10:41
I know families who are already
living in this reality.
living in this reality.
216
629966
3381
10:45
The Daniels family, for example,
217
633767
1898
10:47
set up a DNA lab in the basement
of their suburban Chicago home.
of their suburban Chicago home.
218
635689
4846
10:52
This is not a family
made of PhD scientists.
made of PhD scientists.
219
640904
3203
10:56
This is a family like any other.
220
644656
2110
10:58
They just like to spend time together
doing fun, creative things.
doing fun, creative things.
221
646790
4055
11:02
By day, Brian is an executive
at a private equity firm.
at a private equity firm.
222
650869
3863
11:07
At night and on weekends,
he experiments with DNA
he experiments with DNA
223
655137
2905
11:10
alongside his kids, ages seven and nine,
224
658066
2897
11:12
as a way to explore the living world.
225
660987
2104
11:15
Last time I called them,
226
663480
1674
11:17
they were checking out homegrown produce
from the backyard garden.
from the backyard garden.
227
665178
3888
11:21
They were testing tomatoes
that they had picked,
that they had picked,
228
669090
2297
11:23
taking the flesh of their skin,
putting it in a test tube,
putting it in a test tube,
229
671411
2780
11:26
mixing it with chemicals to extract DNA
230
674215
2082
11:28
and then using their home DNA copier
231
676321
3478
11:31
to test those tomatoes
for genetically engineered traits.
for genetically engineered traits.
232
679823
3923
11:36
For the Daniels family,
233
684883
1527
11:38
the personal DNA machine
is like the chemistry set
is like the chemistry set
234
686434
2899
11:41
for the 21st century.
235
689357
1327
11:43
Most of us may not yet
be diagnosing genetic conditions
be diagnosing genetic conditions
236
691375
3862
11:47
in our kitchen sinks
237
695261
1346
11:49
or doing at-home paternity testing.
238
697123
2218
11:51
(Laughter)
239
699365
1025
11:52
But we've definitely reached
a point in history
a point in history
240
700414
2220
11:54
where every one of you could actually
get hands-on with DNA
get hands-on with DNA
241
702658
5809
12:00
in your kitchen.
242
708491
1431
12:01
You could copy, paste and analyze DNA
243
709946
3187
12:05
and extract meaningful
information from it.
information from it.
244
713157
2531
12:08
And it's at times like this
that profound transformation
that profound transformation
245
716394
2857
12:11
is bound to happen;
246
719275
1599
12:12
moments when a transformative,
powerful technology
powerful technology
247
720898
3252
12:16
that was before limited
to a select few in the ivory tower,
to a select few in the ivory tower,
248
724174
3622
12:19
finally becomes within the reach
of every one of us,
of every one of us,
249
727820
3473
12:23
from farmers to schoolchildren.
250
731951
2191
12:26
Think about the moment
251
734772
1167
12:27
when phones stopped being
plugged into the wall by cords,
plugged into the wall by cords,
252
735963
3877
12:31
or when computers left the mainframe
253
739864
2295
12:34
and entered your home or your office.
254
742183
2613
12:37
The ripples of the personal DNA revolution
255
745574
2823
12:40
may be hard to predict,
256
748421
1527
12:41
but one thing is certain:
257
749972
1617
12:43
revolutions don't go backwards,
258
751613
2392
12:46
and DNA technology is already spreading
faster than our imagination.
faster than our imagination.
259
754029
4265
12:50
So if you're curious,
260
758318
1899
12:52
get up close and personal
with DNA -- today.
with DNA -- today.
261
760241
3215
12:55
It is in our DNA to be curious.
262
763480
2591
12:58
(Laughter)
263
766095
1015
12:59
Thank you.
264
767134
1160
13:00
(Applause)
265
768318
3314
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sebastian Kraves - Biotech entrepreneurSebastian Kraves wants to bring DNA science to more people in new places.
Why you should listen
Dr. Sebastian Kraves co-founded the Cambridge-based start-up miniPCR to help bring DNA analysis technology to the masses. Kraves was previously a principal at BCG, where he spent more than six years working on health care challenges, such as how to make biomedical technology accessible in sub-Saharan Africa. A molecular neurobiologist who trained at Harvard, Kraves has published research on optogenetics and the genetic regulation of behavior, but is now focused on his dream to make DNA analysis tools accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Sebastian Kraves | Speaker | TED.com